NEW YORK— U.S. stocks dropped Tuesday as investors weighed company news and the latest report on consumer prices. Signs that the dollar could resume its recent surge also made investors nervous. "We're in something of a holding pattern as markets continue to digest all that's going on," said Kristina Hooper, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors.

Lennar Corp, Toll Brothers Inc and KB Home, among the top six builders, together reported an average 19 percent increase in orders in the latest quarter, up from 3.3 percent in the same period last year. Lennar, the No.2 U.S. homebuilder after D.R. Horton Inc, said on Thursday it expected single-family housing starts and permits to rebound "shortly".

Jan 15- Lennar Corp, the second-largest U.S. homebuilder by the number of homes sold, said it expects 2015 margins to be squeezed as falling oil prices hurt demand in Houston, a city heavily dependent on the energy sector. The warning overshadowed a 50 percent jump in quarterly profit and pushed Lennar's shares down as much as 9 percent. Houston accounted for about...

Jan 15- Lennar Corp, the second-largest U.S. homebuilder by the number of homes sold, reported its first fall in quarterly margins in three years and forecast a further drop in 2015 as costs rise. The warning overshadowed a 50 percent jump in quarterly profit and pushed Lennar's shares down as much as 4.3 percent in morning trading on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Jan 7- The Federal Housing Administration will reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage point to 0.85 percent from 1.35 percent, the White House said on Wednesday. In a statement, the White House said the move was part of President Obama' s efforts "to expand responsible lending to creditworthy borrowers." The administration also...

These states- Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, North and South Carolina, Georgia and California- accounted for about half of the total job growth in the 12 months to September, according to RBC Capital Markets. The shift bodes well for D.R. Horton Inc, the largest U.S. homebuilder, and rivals Lennar Corp and PulteGroup Inc, each of which gets a large part of its revenue...